Voters Will Not Get to Watch Video of Trump's Depositions in Trump University Lawsuits
A federal judge in California has granted Donald Trump’s motion to keep sealed video of two depositions he gave in the last year in a pair of class-action lawsuits against Trump University.
Partial transcripts of the depositions have already been made public, but attorneys representing former “students” at the purported university argued that Trump made “many spontaneous and ad hominem remarks that are not reflected in the paper transcript of his depositions.” (Anyone who has watched one of the Republican candidate’s stump speeches knows what they are talking about.) Those spontaneous remarks, as well as facial expressions and body language, show “complete and utter unfamiliarity” with the particulars of how Trump University was run, the plaintiffs’ lawyers argued. Trump’s lawyers, obviously, objected to this.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who Trump has accused of being a “hater” incapable of impartiality in the case, sided with Trump. “While there is a degree of legitimate public interest in the demeanor of the defendant in the deposition videos, it is not a substantial interest,” Curiel wrote in his decision, dismissing a motion from media organizations that had sought to intervene in the case to unseal the video footage. The judge wrote:
At the same time, a realistic appraisal of the context of the case necessitates the conclusion that releasing the deposition videos would impair judicial efficiency by increasing the likelihood that prospective jurors would be exposed to information about the case, as well as to evidence that could be introduced at trial to impeach Defendant’s testimony. Media Intervenors suggest that courts have found that even extensive publicity does not necessarily prevent a party from getting a fair trial, and that any such risk can be mitigated by the use of jury management tools, such as voir dire...While that may be, the Court is loath to increase the difficulty of the challenge of seating an impartial jury in order to achieve a limited public benefit.
What is more, Curiel wrote, “There is every reason to believe that release of the deposition videos would contribute to an on-going ‘media frenzy’ that would increase the difficulty of seating an impartial jury.”
The case is set to go to trial in late November—after the general election. A separate lawsuit against Trump over the allegedly fraudulent school, brought by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, will likely go to trial before the election.